


Phobia #1: Dentists

by IceboundEmu



Series: Lovelink Phobia Series [1]
Category: LoveLink (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, M/M, Phobias
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:47:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27802534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceboundEmu/pseuds/IceboundEmu
Summary: Dentophobia - Fear of the DentistYour fearless Army Boy may not be as fearless as he seems.
Relationships: Jonathan Hayes/MC
Series: Lovelink Phobia Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2034190
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Phobia #1: Dentists

**Author's Note:**

> Thus a series is born of the phobias I dream up for the Lovelink Matches
> 
> First up is Jonathan, afflicted with a toothache and a fear of dentists

Jonathan clung onto your hand like a lifeline, white faced with terror.

You offered him a reassuring squeeze, hoping that he wouldn’t hold this against you once he’d recovered from the experience. Knowing your big fearless soldier feared something somehow made him even more attractive in your eyes, it was nice to see his vulnerable side occasionally.

You wondered what had caused his aversion to dentists, or whether it had been a fear since childhood. It probably wasn’t the best time to ask, invoking further reminiscence of past terrors probably wasn’t conducive to keep Jonathan in one place.

The dentist hadn’t even made an appearance yet. You hoped Jonathan’s army training didn’t kick in or you’d probably end the day bailing him out of a police cell.

“How did you cope with this in the Army?”

You decided conversation might distract him from his current situation, he looked about ready to jump out of his own skin at the slightest noise.

“They used to give me sedatives beforehand, that was after my first visit when I bit one of the dentists.”

It was impossible not to giggle at that, though you made a mental note to warn your dentist of that before he put his hands anywhere near Jonathan’s mouth. It had taken you quite sometime to get onto this dentist’s books and you weren’t keen on getting struck off.

“I’ll have a word with them before they start anything, see what they can give you.”

“We don’t need to stay; it feels better now.”

You raised an eyebrow at this, knowing that you were being lied to, wondering whether he thought you’d believe that. Probably not, but if squaring you as the person foisting the unpleasant experience onto him helped Jonathan cope with this you had no objections, so long as he made it up to you later. He was already more than aware of your own phobia, having had to save you already from several spider scenarios.

“We’ll see what the dentist says now we’re here. You’ll be a lot more comfortable with that treated.”

As much as you believed he was capable of ignoring the toothache if it meant he could escape his own nightmare, getting a tooth removed whilst it was still a minor issue would prove beneficial in the long run.

A knock on the door broke you out of your thoughts, just in time to hear Jonathan give what could only be described as a whine of terror as he tightened his grip again. The door opened, admitting a nurse, who took one look at the look of fright on Jonathan’s face before her own softened in sympathy.

“I just came to warn you that Mr Foster has been held up and is running a little late. We’ve got a couple of trainees in today and he’s just showing them a process. Does your partner know what’s troubling you?”

Jonathan looked at her in bewilderment, you with the benefit of a mind less clouded with terror grasped what she was alluding to and nodded, noting that she relaxed as well. It couldn’t be much fun for them having to deal with nervous patients. In his current state you weren’t sure that he’d be able to talk coherently.

“I think I can describe it for him. Plus, I’ll be driving him home. Do you have something that’ll help him relax?”

“I think we can find something, and the delay will give it time to kick in. Are you allergic to anything?”

Jonathan shook his head. She seemed to consider her options before unlocking a cabinet in the office and removing a box of medication. She offered Jonathan a pill which he dry swallowed, waving away the glass of water she offered.

“How long will it take to work?”

You thought it best to ask, just so you knew when Jonathan would become less of a flight risk, it also wouldn’t hurt if he relaxed the death grip he had on your hand currently.

“You should notice the effects in about ten minutes. It works fast. It’ll last for a couple of hours.”

It might just have been psychosomatic, but he certainly seemed to be calmer now he had something in his system. You wondered if he’d thought he would be forced to cope without.

She left at that, leaving you alone again with your boyfriend. Jonathan released his grip on your hand to shift position in the dentist’s chair, once he was comfortable his hand sought yours again, and you ran your thumb across the back in what you hoped was a soothing motion. Neither of you spoke, for a while, Jonathan closing his eyes as the medication started to kick in, stretching like a cat whilst smothering a yawn.

“You won’t leave me alone will you?”

It was little more than a sleepy mumble and you rolled your eyes at Jonathan believing you’d leave him in such a state. 

“I need to tell the dentist what’s wrong with you. I’m not going anywhere,”

He smiled, though the smile was wiped off his face by the door opening and the entry of the Mr Foster, though the sedative was helping keep him in place. You assumed the nurse had given him the heads up on his nervous patient, there was no sign of any of the students she’d indicated were with him earlier.

“So, what seems to be the problem?”

The question was directed at you, Jonathan was in no real state to answer and appeared to be feigning sleep. Or perhaps just having his eyes shut helped him dissociate from the experience.

“He’s been complaining of a toothache for the past few days, but it was worse this morning, so I dragged him here to get it checked out. He was saying it was at the back of his mouth on the left side.”

You thought for a moment.

“He hates dentists, tried to bite one when unmedicated, so he’s been sedated as it’s…better?”

Mr Foster nodded, putting on a pair of latex gloves.

“Could you open you mouth for me Mr Hayes? I need to look at your teeth.”

Jonathan complied to an extent, he opened his mouth, but it was left to Mr Foster to press on his chin to encourage him to gape so he could access the area with ease and carry out an examination. You sat back out of the way, keeping your grip on Jonathan’s hand, squeezing back to provide reassurance you were still there whenever the probing became too much. After a few minutes Mr Foster withdrew the tools and placed them back on the table, before turning to you.

“His left wisdom tooth is infected; it’s going to have to come out. I can do it now if you have time?”

You figured the fewer dentists visits Jonathan had to endure the happier he’d be, even if you knew he’d be feeling the effects of this for the next few days.

“Can I stay? I promised him I wouldn’t leave him alone.”

“As long as you stay back, this is going to look pretty gruesome, but he won’t be able to feel anything, the area will be numbed before we start any work.”

“I had mine removed. Without sedatives.”

Your parents had decided the extra medicine wasn’t worth the expense, so you had a graphic memory of what it was you’d experience. Hopefully, the medication Jonathan had ingested would turn this into a blurred memory, or even better he wouldn’t remember the experience at all.

You noticed your dentist was looking at you with a thoughtful expression.

“Fair enough, I’m just going to give him a local anaesthetic, then I’m going to need to get a nurse to help out. You’re happy to keep an eye on him?”

You nodded, and watched as he filled a hypodermic needle with a liquid from a vial, then inserted the needle into Jonathan’s mouth, piercing the affected area before depressing the plunger, delivering the numbing drug to the location it would be needed. Jonathan had flinched at the initial jab, but relaxed as the medicine took effect, probably alleviating the pain of his toothache. Once the dentist had left and shut the door behind him Jonathan opened one bleary eye.

“Feel much better now, time to go?”

His words were slurred from the effects of the medication and you had to bite back a laugh as he tried and failed to get up. You pressed a restraining hand on his chest to keep him in place before answering.

“Not quite handsome. You’ve just got to have a little operation then we can go home.”


End file.
